Sean Yates’ fate proves Team Sky will show no mercy in doping cull

First it was Bobby Julich, now Sean Yates and Steven de Jongh have followed.
Those critics who wondered whether anyone at Sky would confess to doping
merely because Dave Brailsford had asked them now have their answer.

Brailsford’s zero tolerance approach has been derided as naive by some, and unrealistic by others, who argue that drug use has been so widespread in the sport that if only the 'clean’ people remain, there would be hardly anyone left. But the departure of Yates in particular will resonate around the sport, and Sky can claim to be delivering on their vow to build a scandal-free team.

The question now is how many more at Sky will tell Brailsford they cannot sign a declaration of innocence? It is thought that Sky have now interviewed all of their current riders, and that all will sign the declaration.

Sky teams have competed clean throughout the three years of their existence and even strong rivals such as Garmin-Sharp, Liquigas and BMC happily concede that Bradley Wiggins and Sky won the 2012 Tour de France riding clean.

But among the backroom staff, whose careers thread back through the sport’s shameful past, matters are likely to be more complicated. Men such as Carsten Jeppesen, Marcus Ljungqvist, Servais Knaven, Nicolas Portal and Shane Sutton could find themselves in the spotlight simply because cycling’s older generation have emerged from a period during which the sport was, as we now know, rotten.

That cheating was so institutionalised in the sport has also led some to argue that Brailsford’s approach is too harsh. Other teams have retained repentant staff who have admitted doping in the past, claiming they are the best people to ensure a new generation of riders do not make the same mistakes. Jonathan Vaughters, who confessed to doping while a team-mate of Lance Armstrong's, is now head of the Garmin-Sharp team, and says the sport should establish a truth and reconciliation process, which would encourage more people to be honest about their pasts.

Mark Cavendish, Britain’s current Sports Personality of the Year, thrilled the world with his 20 Tour de France stage wins and a Milan-San Remo title while at HTC-High Road, yet throughout that period he worked closely with his directeur sportif Brian Holm, and his team manager, Rolf Aldag, who both confessed to their former EPO use in order to secure their management positions.

Later in his career at HTC-High Road, Cavendish was assisted tactically by legendary former sprinter Erik Zabel who has also confessed to occasional use of EPO in the past.

Cavendish has recently announced his departure from Sky to Omega-Pharma Quickstep, where he will be reunited with Holm and Aldag. Up to now, few in the sport have considered this either odd or undesirable. The 'born-again’ coaches are trusted and there is no stronger anti-doping voice in the peloton than Cavendish.

Brailsford is not so sanguine. “We’ve made clear our commitment to being a clean team and have always been open about the steps we’re taking,” he said last week.

“Although it’s never easy to part, we believe this is the right thing to do. It’s like there has been an atomic bomb in the sport and it makes you really think about what we are doing here.

"We have gone back to basics and reconfirmed our principle of being a completely clean team – some people say that’s utopian but I say it’s worth aiming for.

“I am not in favour of general pardons, there has to be consequences, but you also strike a balance and support those who confess.

"Sky started as a clean team and we will continue to be a clean team. It is the guiding principle to what we do. A British winner of the Tour de France is worthless unless he is a clean rider. People must continue to be able to believe in us.”

Brailsford knew before he undertook the process that it would painful and also disruptive. Sky have really begun to fire recently as a team and the loss of a series of fully integrated coaches will be disruptive.

It has created a mood of uncertainty and slight confusion among the top riders, as illustrated by Chris Froome’s views on the interview process.

“I can’t say I 100 per cent agree with it,” he said, “because there are individuals out there who probably have touched something in their career when they started but they may not have carried on as cycling evolved and ever since may have been doing something good for the sport. They’ll be painted with the same brush.”

Froome was one of the first to be interviewed and to sign the declaration: “I asked them some questions too. I wanted to find out if it was 100 per cent about anyone that had ever touched anything.

"It seems that’s the way it is, despite whatever losses it might mean to the team.”